Package With Opening Feature

ABSTRACT

A package for holding a food product is disclosed herein. The package includes a flexible material having a first portion forming a first side of the package, a second portion forming a second side of the package, a first closed end, and a second closed end. The first portion and the second portion are in face-to-face contact at each of the first closed end and the second closed end and are spaced apart to form an interior space. A removable portion is removably attached to a base portion by an opening feature. The opening feature comprises at least one line of weakening in at least one of the first portion and the second portion. The at least one line of weakening extends across the first closed end and the second closed end and the at least one of the first portion and the second portion defining the interior space.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/963,624, filed Dec. 10, 2013.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

The disclosure of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/963,624, which was filed on Dec. 10, 2013, is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if presented herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to packages for holding products. More specifically, the present disclosure is directed to packages having opening features to allow relatively easy access to an interior of the packages.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In one aspect, the present disclosure is generally directed to a package for holding a food product. The package comprises a flexible material having a first portion forming a first side of the package, a second portion forming a second side of the package, a first closed end, and a second closed end. The first portion and the second portion are in face-to-face contact at each of the first closed end and the second closed end. An interior space is for receiving a food product between the first closed end and the second closed end. The first portion and the second portion are spaced apart to define the interior space. A removable portion is removably attached to a base portion by an opening feature. The opening feature comprises at least one line of weakening in at least one of the first portion and the second portion. The at least one line of weakening extends across the first closed end and the second closed end and the at least one of the first portion and the second portion defining the interior space.

In another aspect, the present disclosure is generally directed to a method of forming a package for holding a food product. The method comprises obtaining a flexible material having a first portion and a second portion, positioning the first portion and the second portion to form an interior space, and forming a first closed end and a second closed end. The first portion and the second portion being in face-to-face contact at each of the first closed end and the second closed end. The method comprises forming an opening feature comprising at least one line of weakening in at least one of the first portion and the second portion. The at least one line of weakening extends across the first closed end and the second closed end and the at least one of the first portion and the second portion defining the interior space.

In another aspect, the present disclosure is generally directed to a package. The package comprises a bag comprising closed ends and an interior space for holding a product. The bag is formed of at least two layers of material. At least one layer of material of the at least two layers of material comprises opening features disposed in the at least one layer. The opening features allow removal of material between the closed ends to access the interior space and product.

Additional aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Those skilled in the art will appreciate the above stated advantages and other advantages and benefits of various additional embodiments reading the following detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the below-listed drawing figures. It is within the scope of the present disclosure that the above-discussed aspects be provided both individually and in various combinations.

According to common practice, the various features of the drawings discussed below are not necessarily drawn to scale. Dimensions of various features and elements in the drawings may be expanded or reduced to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates a package having opening features, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates the package of FIG. 1 with an open end allowing access to an interior space for storing a food product.

FIG. 3 illustrates the package of FIG. 1 with a food product disposed therein.

FIG. 4 illustrates an enlarged view of a closed end of the package of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 illustrates the package of FIG. 1 having a portion of material removed through use of the opening features.

FIG. 6 is a simplified schematic of a system of forming a web of material for assembling a package having opening features, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a simplified schematic of a system of forming a web of material for assembling a package having opening features, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates a plan view of two portions of material for assembling the package of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 illustrates a perspective view of a portion of a method of assembling the package of FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 illustrates an elevation view of a portion of a method of assembling the package of FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the assembled package of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 12-18 illustrate a plurality of different embodiments of webs of material for assembling packages similar to the package of FIG. 1.

FIG. 19 illustrates a package having opening features, according to another embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 20 illustrates the package of FIG. 19 with an open end allowing access to an interior space for storing a food product.

FIG. 21 illustrates the package of FIG. 19 having a portion of material removed through use of the opening features.

FIG. 22 illustrates a plan view of a blank of material for assembling the package of FIG. 19.

FIG. 23 illustrates a perspective view of a portion of a method of assembling the package of FIG. 19.

FIG. 24 illustrates an elevation view of a portion of a method of assembling the package of FIG. 19.

FIG. 25 is a plan view of the assembled package of FIG. 19.

Corresponding parts are designated by corresponding reference numbers throughout the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT

The present disclosure generally relates to packages for holding products such as food products or other articles. Packages according to the present disclosure can accommodate articles of any shape. In one embodiment, the package is for holding and/or heating (e.g., in a microwave) a single-serving food product (e.g., sandwich, breakfast sandwich, burrito, etc.), but the package could accommodate other food products without departing from the disclosure. In one embodiment, the package comprises a flexible material that can comprise multiple layers or a single layer without departing from the disclosure.

FIGS. 1-5 illustrate a package generally indicated at 1, according to a first embodiment of the disclosure. The package 1 includes a first portion 12 forming a first side (front) of the package and a second portion 14 (FIG. 3) forming a second side (back) of the package. The package 1 has a first closed end 3, defined by a sealed end portion 4. The package 1 has a second closed end 5, defined by a sealed end portion 6. The first portion 12 and the second portion 14 are in face-to-face contact at each of the sealed end portions 4, 6 forming a respective closed end 3, 5. An interior space 11 is formed between the first portion 12 and the second portion 14 for receiving a food product F (FIG. 2). The package 1 also includes an opening feature 7 defined on at least one of an outer surface 66 or an inner surface 67 of the package 1. In one embodiment, the opening feature 7 comprises a line of weakening (e.g., tear line, cut, slit, etc.) in the first portion 12 and the second portion 14 that to form a removable portion 16 of the package 1 that is removably attached to a base portion 18. As shown in FIG. 1, the package comprises an upper edge 17 and a lower edge 19 both extending between the closed ends 3, 5. In one embodiment the upper edge 17 and the lower edge 19 are folds of flexible material forming the junction between the first portion and the second portion, but the package could be otherwise shaped, arranged, and/or configured without departing from the disclosure. In one embodiment, the package 1 includes a closure 9 in the first portion 12 and the second portion 14 generally extending between the first and second closed ends 3, 5. As shown in FIG. 3, the closure 9 includes a seam 13 that includes an overlap of edges of two webs of material that are adhesively attached to form the first portion 12 and the second portion 14. Each closure 9 includes a flap 65 that extends from the seam 13 in the first portion 12 and the second portion 14. As discussed further in alternative embodiments below, the package 1 could be otherwise formed so that the first portion 12 and the second portion 14 are formed from a single web of material and the package includes only a single seam 13 in one of the first portion or the second portion. Further, the package 1 could be otherwise shaped, arranged, and/or configured without departing from the disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates the package 1 prior to forming the sealed end portion 6 at end 5 and prior to inserting the food product F into the interior space 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the package 1 has an open end 10 where the first portion 12 and the second portion 14 are free from attachment to each other to allow access to and creation of the interior space 11 for holding a food product F. As illustrated, the package 1 includes the first closed end 3 defined by the sealed end portion 4, while the closed end 5 is absent. Therefore, the arrangement illustrated is a partially closed tubular formation. The open end 10 may be accessed to increase a volume of the interior space 11 by increasing the space between the first portion 12 and the second portion 14, for example, by inserting a food product therein to create or increase the interior space 11.

FIG. 3 illustrates the package 1 shown in FIG. 2 with the food product F disposed in the interior space 11. As shown in FIG. 3, the package 1 has an exterior surface 66 and an internal surface 67 that contacts the food product F. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the partially closed tubular formation is apparent and the interior space 11 is visible. As also shown, closure 9 includes the seam 13 and the flap 65 extending from the seam that are created through the mating of separate webs of material (discussed more fully below) at both the front and back of the package. Furthermore, opening features 7 exist on two sides of the package 1 (e.g., in both the first portion 12 and the second portion 14), thereby allowing for easy access to the interior space 11 by tearing away the removable portion 16 and portion of martial from the package 1 (discussed more fully below). In one embodiment, the line of weakening forming the opening feature 7 extend through both the first portion 12 and the second portion 14 of the flexible material so that the opening feature 7 is present in the exterior surface 66 and the interior surface of the package. As will be discussed further below, the opening feature can be present in only one of the first portion 12 and the second portion 14 of the flexible material without departing from the disclosure. Further, the opening feature 7 can extend only partially through the first portion 12 and/or the second portion 14 of the flexible material without departing from the disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an enlarged view of the closed end 3 of the package 1. As shown, the package 1 may include a notch 15 adjacent and/or in registration with the opening features 7 to assist in tearing away a portion of the package 1. In one embodiment, the notch 15 is formed in one or both of the closed ends 3, 5. The notch 15 could be otherwise shaped, arranged, configured, and/or omitted without departing from the disclosure. FIG. 5 illustrates the package 1 having the removable portion 16 torn or separated from the base portion 18 at the opening feature 7 to access the food product F (e.g., after cooking or heating the package in a microwave oven). As shown, the interior space 11 of the package 1 has been accessed allowing for removal of the food product F. Furthermore, at least a portion of the closed ends 3, 5 and the associated sealed end portions 4, 6 remain intact in the base portion 18. Therefore, the base portion 18 may be used as a carrier for accessing the food product F and/or a protective sleeve for consuming the food product F depending on its temperature.

The package 1 may be varied from the descriptions above and features may be omitted, altered, or otherwise configured without departing from this disclosure.

Hereinafter, descriptions of methods of forming packages (such as package 1) from a plurality of different material configurations are described in detail.

FIG. 6 is a simplified schematic of a system 30 of forming a web of flexible material 60 for assembling a package I having opening features 7, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The system 30 includes a first roll of material 32 and a second roll of material 33. Generally, the first roll of material 32 may be a paper or paper-like material for assembly into an exterior surface 66 of a package 1. According to at least one embodiment, the first roll of material 32 is bleached or unbleached paper. According to another embodiment, the first roll of material 32 is 351 b bleached white paper. The second roll of material 33 may be a film or plastic-like film for assembly into an inner surface 67 of a package 1. According to at least one embodiment, the second roll of material 33 is plastic film. According to at least one embodiment, the second roll of material 33 is polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film. According to at least one embodiment, the second roll of material 33 is 48 ga PET film. According to yet another embodiment, the second roll of material 33 includes metallized, or at least partially metallized, portions, patterns, strips, lines, and/or sections defined thereon, or any other suitable material for heating a food product F (e.g., in a microwave oven). Generally, the roll of material 33 may comprise any suitable impermeable, substantially impermeable, flexible, plastic, and/or grease-resistant material. Furthermore, the materials of rolls 32, 33 may be altered without departing from the disclosure.

As shown, material 35 from the roll 32 and material 37 from the roll 33 travel in machine directions A1 and A2, respectively. Slitters, perforators, or other cutting implements 39, 41 guided on support members 42 slit and/or perforate material 35, 37, respectively to create perforations/slits 51, 52. Additional rollers 47 guide the processed material 35 towards laminating rollers 56. Similarly, guide rollers 54 direct processed material 37 in direction A3 towards laminating rollers 56. The laminating rollers 56 mate and laminate material 35 and 37 to create the web of material 60, which may be further cut and assembled into packages. As shown, the perforations/slits 51, 52 may be separated by a distance d₁. According to one embodiment, the distance d₁ is zero. According to one embodiment, the distance d1 is approximately one-eight of one inch. In one embodiment, the perforations/slits 51, 52 can form a line of weakening 7 in the package 1 assembled from the web of material 60.

The system 30 and associated lamination process may be altered in any suitable manner. Furthermore, differing cutting implements, rollers, or material supplies may be implemented without departing from this disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a simplified schematic of a system 31 of forming a web of material 61 for assembling a package 1 having opening features 7, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The system 31 is substantially similar to system 30. However, as illustrated, cutting implement 39 and associated perforation/slit 51 of material 35 has been omitted. In this manner, the web of material 61 may be formed with an opening feature on only one layer of material rather than through two layers of material (e.g., the opening feature 7 is formed on only the exterior surface 66 or the inner surface 67 of the package 1). Similarly, additional webs of material may be made which lack perforations/slits entirely for at least partially forming the bottom portion 18 of the package 1 illustrated in FIG. 5. Systems for creating such laminated webs of material may be substantially similar to systems 30, 31 through adjustment and/or removal of cutting implements 39, 41. One in embodiment, two webs of material (one web comprising a portion of the web of material 60 or 61 and one web comprising material that is free from opening features 7 or lines of weakening) can be joined together to form the package.

Hereinafter, methods of assembly of packages according to embodiments of the invention are described in detail. FIG. 8 illustrates a plan view of two portions 80, 93 of webs of material for assembling a package. The two portions 80, 93 may be from webs of laminated material having two or more layers of paper and/or film as described above. As shown, the first portion of material 80 comprises a fold line 81 for folding the portion 80 and further comprises two opening features, perforations, and/or slits 87 roughly equidistant from the fold line 81. As such the first portion 80 can be cut from either of the webs 60, 61 described above having one or more lines of weakening 51, 52 that form the opening features 87. In one embodiment, the second portion 93 can be cut from a web of material that is free from any line of weakening for forming an opening feature 7 of the package 1. The second portion 93 includes a fold line 94 for folding the portion 93. Generally, a top edge 89 of the portion 80 may be brought into registration with a bottom edge 98 of the portion 93 to form a closure 9 of a package 1 as described above of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5. Similarly, a bottom edge of the portion 80 may be brought into registration with a top edge 96 of the portion 93 to form an additional closure 9 opposite the first closure of the package 1. As shown in FIG. 9, the fold lines 81, 94 form the top and bottom edges 17, 19 of the package when the edges 89, 98 are positioned to form the closure 9. As shown in FIG. 9, portions 80 and 93 may be folded over in the directions of arrows AS and A6, respectively while bringing associated top and bottom edges 89, 98, 91, 96 into registration, respectfully, for forming closures 9 of a package 1. In this way, the portions 80, 93 cooperate to firm the first (front) portion 12 of the flexible material of the package 1 and the second (back portion) 14 of the package as shown in FIGS. 1-5.

As shown in FIG. 10, a sealed end region 101 may be defined to form a first closed end 103 of the partially assembled package 104 whilst allowing access to an interior space 105, for example, for depositing a food product F. After inserting a food product F in the interior space 105, a sealed end region 107 may be defined to form a second closed end 109 of the fully assembled package 106. The sealed end regions 101, 107 are formed by bringing the two portions 12, 14 of the package into face-to-face contact and securing the two portions with adhesive in the area of the sealed end regions. The two portions 12, 14 of the package that comprises the portions 80, 93 of the webs are free from adhesive connection to each other in the area between the sealed end regions 101, 107. In one embodiment, the sealed end regions 101, 107 correspond to the sealed end portions 4, 6 of the package 1 of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5 and the interior space 105 corresponds to the interior space 11 of the embodiment of FIGS. 1-5. The package 1 can be formed by other forming steps and other materials without departing from the disclosure.

FIGS. 12-18 illustrate a plurality of different embodiments of exemplary webs of flexible material for assembling packages similar to the package 1 of FIG. 1, the package 106 of FIG. 11, and the package 301 of FIG. 19. The exemplary webs of flexible material can be formed into the packages 1, 106, 301, of the various embodiments of the disclosure as well as other suitable embodiments of other non-illustrated packages without departing from the disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 12, material 200 may be processed to include a longitudinal slit 201.

The material 200 may be a film or plastic-like material. Additionally, material 203 may be processed to include a longitudinal perforation 204. The material 203 may be a paper or paper-like material. Thereafter, the materials 200, 203 may be laminated together to form a web of material 206 for forming a package. According to this embodiment, the slit 201 and perforation 204 may be in registration. In one example, the line of weakening 7 of the package 1 can comprise the slit 201 on the interior surface 67 (formed in the material 200) and the perforation 204 in the exterior surface 66 (formed in the material 203) that are in registration to form the line of weakening 7 of the opening feature.

As shown in FIG. 13, material 210 may be processed to include a longitudinal slit 211. The material 210 may be a film or plastic-like material. Additionally, material 213 may be processed to include a longitudinal perforation 214. The material 213 may be a paper or paper-like material. Thereafter, the materials 210, 213 may be laminated together to form a web of material 216 for forming a package. According to this embodiment, the slit 211 and perforation 214 are offset by a distance d₂. According to one embodiment, the distance d₂ is zero. According to another embodiment, the distance d₂ is approximately one-eighth of one inch. In one example, the line of weakening 7 of the package 1 can comprise the slit 211 on the interior surface 67 (formed in the material 210) and the perforation 214 in the exterior surface 66 (formed in the material 213) that are offset by distance d₂ to form the line of weakening 7 of the opening feature.

As shown in FIG. 14, material 220 may be a film or plastic-like material lacking a slit or perforations. In contrast, material 223 may be processed to include a longitudinal slit 224. The material 223 may be a paper or paper-like material. Thereafter, the materials 220, 223 may be laminated together to form a web of material 226 for forming a package. According to this embodiment, the slit 224 may form an opening feature for an assembled package. In one example, the line of weakening 7 of the package 1 can comprise the slit 224 in the exterior surface 66 (formed in the material 223) while the inner surface 67 (formed from material 220) is free of any line of weakening to form the line of weakening 7 of the opening feature.

As shown in FIG. 15, material 230 may be processed to include a longitudinal slit 231. The material 230 may be a film or plastic-like material. In contrast, material 233 may be a paper or paper-like material lacking a slit or perforations. Thereafter, the materials 230, 233 may be laminated together to form a web of material 236 for forming a package. According to this embodiment, the slit 231 may form an opening feature for an assembled package. In one example, the line of weakening 7 of the package 1 can comprise the slit 231 in the inner surface 67 (formed in the material 230) while the exterior surface 66 (formed from material 233) is free of any line of weakening to form the line of weakening 7 of the opening feature.

As shown in FIG. 16, material 240 may be processed to include a longitudinal slit 241. The material 240 may be a film or plastic-like material. Additionally, material 243 may be processed to include a longitudinal slit 244. The material 243 may be a paper or paper-like material. Thereafter, the materials 240, 243 may be laminated together to form a web of material 246 for forming a package. According to this embodiment, the slits 241, 244 are offset by a distance d₃. According to one embodiment, the distance d₃ is zero. According to another embodiment, the distance d₃ is approximately one-eighth of one inch. In one example, the line of weakening 7 of the package 1 can comprise the slit 241 on the interior surface 67 (formed in the material 240) and the slit 244 in the exterior surface 66 (formed in the material 243) that are offset by distance d₃ to form the line of weakening 7 of the opening feature.

As shown in FIG. 17, material 250 may be a film or plastic-like material lacking a slit or perforations. Additionally, material 253 may be a paper or paper-like material lacking slit or perforations. Thereafter, the materials 220, 223 may be laminated together to form a web of material 256 for forming a package. The laminated material 256 may be further processed to create a longitudinal perforation 254. In one example, the line of weakening 7 of the package 1 can comprise the longitudinal perforation 254 that can pass through one or both of the interior surface 67 (formed in the material 240) and the exterior surface 66 (formed in the material 243) to form the line of weakening 7 of the opening feature.

As shown in FIG. 18, material 260 may be processed to include a longitudinal slit 261 and a longitudinal strip of metallized material 262 separated therefrom by distance d₄. According to another embodiment, the distance d₄ is approximately one-eighth of one inch. The metallized material 262 may become active in a microwave oven and heat an area proximate thereto (e.g., the longitudinal slit 261). The material 260 may be a film or plastic-like material while the metallized material 262 may be deposited thereon using any suitable process, including a vacuum deposition process. In contrast, material 263 may be a paper or paper-like material lacking a slit or perforations. Thereafter, the materials 260, 263 may be laminated together to form a web of material 266 for forming a package. According to this embodiment, the slit 261 may form a portion of an opening feature for an assembled package. After heating the assembled package in a microwave oven, the metallized material 262 may weaken the material 263 adjacent thereto thereby forming a longitudinal line of weakening in the form of an opening feature. According to at least one embodiment, the longitudinal slit 261 is omitted allowing the metallized material 262 to cause longitudinal lines of weakening in both the material 260 and the material 263. Furthermore, according to other embodiments, other metallized portions may be formed on the material 260 such as heating patterns, toasting patterns, or any other suitable patterns of metal material which enhances heating characteristics in packages formed of the material 266. In one example, the line of weakening 7 of the package 1 can comprise the longitudinal slit 261 and the strip of metallized material 262 that can be on the interior surface 67 (formed in the material 260) and the exterior surface 66 (formed in the material 263) can be free of any form of weakening that forms the line of weakening 7 of the opening feature. As noted above, the package 1 can have opening features 7 that are otherwise shaped, arranged, and/or configured without departing from the disclosure.

Generally, as described herein, bags and packages can be formed from a web of laminated stock material, although various other bag materials also can be used, and can be lined or coated with a desired material and/or include metallic elements in any desired form. Although particularly described above as having two closures 9, with a respective closure in a respective one of the first portion 12 and the second portion 14 of the package, it should be understood that this may be varied according to an available width of the web of material from which packages are formed. For example, a single web of material may be folded and formed into a package having a single closure and two sealed ends.

FIG. 19 illustrates a package generally indicated at 301, according to a second embodiment of the disclosure. The package 301 is generally similar to the package 1 of the first embodiment, and like or similar reference numbers will be used to indicate like or similar features. The package 301 includes a first portion 312 forming the first side of the package and a second portion 314 forming a second side of the package. The package 301 has a first closed end 303, defined by a sealed end portion 304. The package 301 has a second closed end 305, defined by a sealed end portion 306. An interior space 311 is formed between the first portion 312 and the second portion 314 for receiving a food product F. In one embodiment, an opening feature 3077 comprises a line of weakening (e.g., tear line, cut, slit, etc.) in the first portion 312 and the second portion 314 that to form a removable portion 316 of the package 1 that is removably attached to a base portion 318. As shown in FIG. 19, the package comprises an upper edge 317 and a lower edge 319 both extending between the closed ends 303, 305. In one embodiment the upper edge 317 and the lower edge 319 are folds of flexible material forming the junction between the first portion 312 and the second portion 314, but the package could be otherwise shaped, arranged, and/or configured without departing from the disclosure. In one embodiment, the package 1 includes a closure 309 in the first portion 312 generally extending between the first and second closed ends 303, 305. As shown in FIG. 20, the closure 3099 includes a seam 13 that includes an overlap of edges of a web of material that forms the package 1. The edges of the web of material are adhesively attached to form the first portion 12 and the second portion 14. In one embodiment, a flap 365 extends from the seam 9, but the seam and the package 301 could be otherwise formed without departing from the disclosure.

FIG. 20 illustrates the package 301 prior to forming the sealed end portion 306 at end 305 and after inserting the food product F into the interior space 311. As illustrated, the package 301 has an open end 310 and the interior space 311 is visible showing the first portion 312 spaced apart from the second portion 314 to form the interior space holding the food product F.

FIG. 21 illustrates the package 301 with the removable portion 312 separated from the base portion 318 by tearing along the opening feature 307 to access the food product F in the interior space 311. As shown, the interior space 311 has been accessed allowing for removal of the food product F. Furthermore, at least a portion of the closed ends 303, 305 and the associated sealed end portions 304, 306 remain intact in the base portion 318. Therefore, the base portion 318 may be used as a carrier for accessing the food product F and/or a protective sleeve for consuming the food product F depending on its temperature.

The package 301 may be varied from the descriptions above and features may be omitted, altered, or otherwise configured without departing from this disclosure.

Hereinafter, methods of assembly of packages (e.g., package 301) according to embodiments of the invention are described in detail. FIG. 22 illustrates a plan view a web portion of material 350 for assembling a package. The web portion 350 may be laminated material having two or more layers of paper and/or film as described above in any of the previous embodiment or may have two or more layers as otherwise suitable. As shown, the web portion 350 comprises fold lines 381, 394 for folding the blank 350 into a sleeve formation, and further comprises two opening features, perforations, and/or slits 387 roughly equidistant from the fold line 381. Generally, a top edge 389 may be brought into registration with a bottom edge 398 to form the single closure 9 of the package 301. This may be facilitated by folding the blank 350 at fold lines 381, 394. The top edge 317 of the package 301 corresponding to the fold line 381 and the bottom edge 319 of the package corresponding to the fold line 494 in the web of material 350. As shown, the blank 350 may be folded over in the directions of arrows A8 and A9, while bringing associated top and bottom edges 389, 398 into registration for forming a closure of a package.

As shown in FIG. 24, the sealed end region 304 may be defined to form the first closed end 303 of the partially assembled package 354 whilst allowing access to the interior space 311, for example, for depositing a food product. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 25, the sealed end region 306 may be defined to form the second closed end 305 of the fully assembled package 355 which is substantially similar to package 301 of FIG. 19. The opening feature 307 of the package 301 corresponds to the perforations 387 that could be other forms of weakening without departing from the disclosure. As shown in FIGS. 22-24, the package 301 can be formed from a single web of material 350. The web of material 350 can be formed in any suitable manner including by laminating an inner layer of and an outer layer as described in the previous embodiments, or in any other suitable manner for forming a flexible material having single or multiple layers. of material

While the present invention is described herein in detail in relation to specific aspects and embodiments, it is to be understood that this detailed description is only illustrative and exemplary of the present invention and is made merely for purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the present invention and to set forth the best mode of practicing the invention known to the inventors at the time the invention was made. The detailed description set forth herein is illustrative only and is not intended, nor is to be construed, to limit the present invention or otherwise to exclude any such other embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements of the present invention. All directional references (e.g., upper, lower, upward, downward, left, right, leftward, rightward, top, bottom, above, below, vertical, horizontal, clockwise, and counterclockwise) are used only for identification purposes to aid the reader's understanding of the various embodiments of the present invention, and do not create limitations, particularly as to the position, orientation, or use of the invention unless specifically set forth in the claims. Joinder references (e.g., joined, attached, coupled, connected, and the like) are to be construed broadly and may include intermediate members between a connection of elements and relative movement between elements. As such, joinder references do not necessarily imply that two elements are connected directly and in fixed relation to each other. Further, various elements discussed with reference to the various embodiments may be interchanged to create entirely new embodiments coming within the scope of the present invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A package for holding a food product, the package comprising: a flexible material having a first portion forming a first side of the package and a second portion forming a second side of the package; a first closed end and a second closed end, wherein the first portion and the second portion are in face-to-face contact at each of the first closed end and the second closed end; an interior space for receiving a food product between the first closed end and the second closed end, the first portion and the second portion being spaced apart to define the interior space; a removable portion removably attached to a base portion by an opening feature, the opening feature comprising at least one line of weakening in at least one of the first portion and the second portion, the at least one line of weakening extends across the first closed end and the second closed end and the at least one of the first portion and the second portion defining the interior space.
 2. The package of claim 1, wherein the opening feature comprises a first line of weakening in the first portion and a second line of weakening in the second portion.
 3. The package of claim 2, wherein the opening features comprises a notch in at least one of the first closed end and the second closed end.
 4. The package of claim 3, wherein the at least one notch comprises a first notch in the first closed end and a second notch in the second closed end.
 5. The package of claim 2, wherein the flexible material comprises an outer layer and an inner layer.
 6. The package of claim 5, wherein the first line of weakening and the second line of weakening are in the outer layer.
 7. The package of claim 5, wherein the first line of weakening and the second line of weakening are in the inner layer.
 8. The package of claim 5, wherein the first line of weakening and the second line of weakening are in one of the outer layer and the inner layer.
 9. The package of claim 5, wherein the outer layer comprises paper and the inner layer comprises a polymer film.
 10. The package of claim 5, wherein the outer layer comprises paper and the inner layer comprises a metallized material for heating the food product in a microwave oven.
 11. The package of claim 2, wherein the first line of weakening is aligned with the second line of weakening.
 12. The package of claim 2, wherein the first line of weakening is offset from the second line of weakening.
 13. The package of claim 2, wherein at least one of the first line of weakening and the second line of weakening are slits.
 14. The package of claim 2, wherein at least one of the first line of weakening and the second line of weakening are perforations.
 15. The package of claim 2, wherein at least one of the first line of weakening and the second line of weakening comprises a strip of metallized material for weakening the flexible material upon heating the package.
 16. The package of claim 2, wherein at least one of the first portion and the second portion comprises at least one seam, the at least one seam including an overlap of edges of material.
 17. The package of claim 16, the seam comprises a first seam in the first portion and a second seam in the second portion.
 18. A method of forming a package for holding a food product, the method comprising: obtaining a flexible material having a first portion and a second portion; positioning the first portion and the second portion to form an interior space; forming a first closed end and a second closed end, the first portion and the second portion being in face-to-face contact at each of the first closed end and the second closed end; forming an opening feature comprising at least one line of weakening in at least one of the first portion and the second portion, the at least one line of weakening extends across the first closed end and the second closed end and the at least one of the first portion and the second portion defining the interior space.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the flexible material comprises a web of material comprising the first portion and the second portion, the positioning the first portion and the second portion comprise folding the web of material and forming seam adjoining the free edges of the web of material.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the flexible material comprises a first web of material and a second web of material, the method comprises joining the first web of material to the second web of material to form a first seam and a second seam.
 21. The method of claim 1, wherein the line of weakening comprises a first line of weakening in the first portion and a second line of weakening in the second portion.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein obtaining the flexible material comprises forming a laminate comprising an outer layer and an inner layer.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the forming the laminate comprises forming the first line of weakening and the second line of weakening in the outer layer.
 24. The method of claim 22, wherein the forming the laminate comprises forming the first line of weakening and the second line of weakening in the inner layer.
 25. The method of claim 22, wherein the forming the laminate comprises forming the first line of weakening and the second line of weakening in one of the outer layer and the inner layer.
 26. The method of claim 22, wherein the outer layer comprises paper and the inner layer comprises a polymer film.
 27. The method of claim 22, wherein the outer layer comprises paper and the inner layer comprises a metallized material for heating the food product in a microwave oven.
 28. The method of claim 21, wherein the first line of weakening is aligned with the second line of weakening.
 29. The method of claim 21, wherein the first line of weakening is offset from the second line of weakening.
 30. The method of claim 21, wherein at least one of the first line of weakening and the second line of weakening are slits.
 31. The method of claim 21, wherein at least one of the first line of weakening and the second line of weakening are perforations.
 32. The method of claim 21, wherein at least one of the first line of weakening and the second line of weakening comprises a strip of metallized material and the forming the opening feature comprises heating the package to activate the metallized material and weaken the flexible material. 